Between the steady, slightly scratchy vocals of Pete Quirk, the generally upbeat songs and the lyrics which traverse an emotional landscape that’s as broad as the Asian landscape, the latest release from The Cave Singers is an all around compelling effort.
The Doors video of their 1968 Hollywood Bowl performance has been available before in various formats before, but never in so comprehensive and sophisticated a package as this. The entire concert is included here as well as bonus features that place this appearance in its proper context in terms of the culture of its times and at a crucial juncture of this iconic band’s career.
t was the hammer of the gods. The thunder of demons. And for a crowd of hard rock loving, fist-raising fans in Biloxi, it was heaven. Sevendust, a metal-leaning, powerdrill of a band out of Atlanta, is the epitome of hard work finally paying off. Formed in the mid-90’s by guitar player John Connolly, bass player Vinnie Hornsby and drummer Morgan Rose – with vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and guitarist Clint Lowery joining soon after – they forged ahead even when things looked bleak. That fierce tenacity mixed with a massive sound and eye-opening lyrics is what finally elevated them above all the hundreds of other young bands struggling to get their music heard.
The seemingly unlikely pairing of Adam Green and Binki Shapiro is a curious one. Adam Green of “Moldy Peaches” fame teams up with Binki Shapiro with her sultry and sometimes even smokey vocals. In their debut self titled album Adam Green & Binki Shapiro, they try their hand at the seemingly crowded genre of ‘60’s throwback pop’ and for the most part, succeed in creating a fun little album full of strange love songs. It’s a welcome distraction, but doesn’t leave a long lasting impression.
Allentown, Pennsylvania, was once known as one of the foregrounds of American industrial manufacturing, especially in the silk and textile markets, not to mention Mack Trucks. But while they closed many of the factories down, as Billy Joel once fastidiously proclaimed in his ode to the blue collar metropolis on 1982’s The Nylon Curtain, the spirit of the town’s metal-on-metal spirit lives large in the DNA of their local sons Pissed Jeans, who may have since relocated to more contemporary digs in Philadelphia but hasn’t lost an ounce of the post-hardcore edge they’ve branded into their creative psyche since 2005.
Jay Farrar and his reconfigured Son Volt lineup draw upon the elemental genre of country music for Honky Tonk. Without a shred of contrivance, they achieve and maintain an ever-so-precarious balance of euphoric music offset by deceptively despairing lyrics.
When Sharon Van Etten joins Pickwick for a cover of Seattle indie-rock icon Richard Swift’s “Lady Luck,” their debut LP Can’t Talk Medicine reaches its zenith. The collaboration coalesces into a stone cold neo-soul classic. With a nod to Hall and Oates’ falsetto harmonies, “Lady Luck” is pitch-perfect; a patient rendering that exemplifies Pickwick’s triadic harmony of rock n’ roll, indie-blues, and classic soul.
For their fourth album, Stockholm-based Shout Out Louds tried that common “take a step back in order to take a step forward” approach so often attempted by artists stuck in a rut. Although 2010’s Work found Adam Olenius and Co. playing to some on some of their biggest and brightest stages, the vibe just didn’t seem to gel, and the band’s brightly colored musical palette turned a bit more muted and ill fitting.
How often do you hear bluegrass, Bach, and Radiohead played at the same show? The answer is never unless of course you are talking about the Punch Brothers. In an almost two hour show at the Northampton’s Calvin Theatre, the five piece band dazzled with a musically adventurous mix in which they melded classical, jazz, folk, and rock into their progressive bluegrass sound.
Turtle Island has a punk rock spine with two electric guitarists, standard rock drummer and bassist who are the motor of the band. The core rockers keep things upbeat as extra drummers, vocalists and flute players add a spiritual vibe that is palpable. Speaking minimal to no English and singing in a foreign language didn’t limit the band at all, as energy, honesty and power don’t need to be conveyed in words.
